


Take That Ficlets II

by emmaliza



Category: Take That (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Angst, Angst and Porn, Attempted Seduction, Bickering, Body Image, Communication Failure, Dom/sub, Drugs, Drunkenness, Eating Disorders, First Date, First Time, Friends With Benefits Turned More, Gen, Holding Hands, Housewarming, Jealousy, M/M, Morning Sex, Oral Sex, Orgy, Possessive Behavior, Post-Break Up, Power Dynamics, Pre-Threesome, Public Display of Affection, Rough Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Wet Dream, accidental date, egotism, implied sexual harrassment, stage fright
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:55:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 8,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22432225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmaliza/pseuds/emmaliza
Summary: AKA. a hundred chapters is probably enough.27: Girls are always all over Mark. Girls are always all over all of them, but especially Mark, whose angelic beauty and giving personality seem irresistible to damn near everyone. Jason is no exception.28: "Rob! She’s a fan, you can’t just–”29: “Stopping you running off on me,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and not a terrifyingly vulnerable confession.30: “I’m giving you all I can. Isn’t that enough?”31: You know, Howard isn’t sure it was the best idea to have Rob coming around to clubs with them.32: “Look, the others all think it’s the right time to call it quits too. Why should I be any different?” “Because I love you?”33: Mark isn’t going to take advantage of the situation. Howard is his employee; that would be wrong. The man is here to guard his body and do nothing else to it, and Mark won’t push anything upon him. No matter how hot he is.34: Being chased down the street by a mob of screaming girls isn’t as much fun as it looks on the telly.
Relationships: Gary Barlow/Howard Donald, Gary Barlow/Howard Donald/Jason Orange, Gary Barlow/Howard Donald/Jason Orange/Mark Owen/Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow/Howard Donald/Mark Owen, Gary Barlow/Jason Orange, Gary Barlow/Mark Owen, Gary Barlow/Robbie Williams, Howard Donald/Jason Orange, Howard Donald/Mark Owen, Howard Donald/Robbie Williams
Comments: 25
Kudos: 41





	1. Now, in Stereo (Robbie/Gary, G)

Rob doesn’t know why he let Gaz drag him along here. Dates are not really part of their relationship. Their relationship is usually a never ending cycle of bicker, shag, bicker about the shag, shag over the bickering, repeat until the end of time. He knows this is just going to be a lot of boring watching Gary stare at boring studio equipment.

But the way Gaz put it, this was the studio used by the greats, the Beatles, Bowie and Elton, and Rob couldn’t help tagging along. It did sound kind of cool, not that he’d ever tell Gaz that.

They’re greeted by a woman with black lipstick and a nose piercing, which seems fitting. She’s very friendly though, leads them into the basement as soon as Gaz forks over the cash. “I’ll let you and your boyfriend have a look around.”

Rob’s head spins as she goes. Huh. Okay. He supposes New York is meant to be sophisticated, but…

He looks to Gary, who expects to turn bright red and hurriedly insist they’re nothing gay about this, no sir-ee (apart from, you know, all the sex they’re having). But he just nods and lets the woman go.

Rob cocks his head to the side curiously.

“What?” Gary asks him when he notices Rob stare. “What is it?”

“We boyfriends now, are we?”

Gary does look a little embarrassed then, but he just shrugs. “Well, we’re not not boyfriends.”

Rob doesn’t say anything to that. But, slowly, he can’t help but smile.

“Oh, don’t start grinning like that, you smug twat.”

“I am not!” But he is, and so the only option he has is to lean into it. “It’s just, I’m so happy my sweetheart babykins boyfriend is so proud me, he wants to show me off–”

“God. You’re going to be insufferable, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Rob descends the stairs to kiss his cheek. “You should never have asked me out in the first place.”


	2. Echoes (Robbie/Gary, E)

This house is too fucking big, Rob keeps getting lost in it, but you have to credit Gaz, he’s got a nice cushy bed.

It creaks and bounces as they move together, Rob’s fingers clumsy and sweaty as he grasps Gary by the hips. Gary lies facedown, moaning obscenely into the covers. Rob smacks his arse. “Yeah, you like that, bitch?” Maybe he shouldn’t say such things, but he doubts Gaz is paying attention. He never seems to pay attention to anything but his own pleasure when they do this. Barely even knows who’s fucking him.

Rob gasps when Gaz’s hole tightens around him eagerly, but still a vague sense of annoyance settles in his breast. He grabs Gary by the hair and pulls him upright, onto his knees, so he has to lean back against Rob’s shoulder for balance. Rob isn’t sure if he should kiss him or spit in his face.

Gary groans lowly as Rob keeps pulling his hair, digging his nails into Gary’s skin possessively. He looks down, sees how obscenely hard he’s gotten Gaz - he’s not doing anything about that yet. “Tell me you like it, Barlow,” he growls in Gary’s ear. “Tell me you love my cock. Nobody else’s cock makes you feel like this, huh?”

“Rob…”

“Louder.” Rob’s prick twitches hard deep inside Gary, while Gary whimpers through Rob’s rough thrusts and hair pulling. “Say my name. Let everyone know who does this to you. Who gets to fuck the uptight bitch out of you.”

“Rob!” Gary gasps, squirming, his cock leaking.

“Again!” His spittle lands on Gary’s cheek. Rob bites his shoulder. “Let all the neighbours know. I want everyone to hear. I want everybody to know who makes you feel so good.” _Or I want you to._

“Oh god, Rob, Rob, Rob!”

Of course, this house is too big and too far away from anything for anyone to actually hear them. But it’s nice to pretend.


	3. Number One (All, G)

"See, I told you so."  
  
Gary, not for the first time in the past three years, looks rather pleased with himself. He comes in brandishing a copy of the latest chart positions, and well, it's not as if he has no reason to be.  
  
"Easy, Gaz," Jason reminds him, smiling over his breakfast. "It's only at number seven, after all."  
  
"That's just as good as _Only Takes a Minute_ did." Jason cocks his head slightly. See, he knew the fact their breakthrough hit was a cover was bothering Gaz. "I knew it was my best song. I knew it would be a hit if I could get them to release it."  
  
"We never doubted it," Mark tells him, leaving over to give him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. Gaz goes a bit pink. Howard just grins and squeezes his shoulder, mumbling 'congratulations' before he goes back to his egg and sausage.  
  
Jason isn't sure if it's a good idea for them to indulge his ego like that, but he supposes a Gary proud of himself is a Gary in a good mood, and that means an easier life for everybody.  
  
Rob, of course, can't let things be that simple. "So you've proven yourself then? Nation's greatest songwriter?" Gary looks embarrassed by the sarcasm in Rob's voice, but Jason knows he sort of believes that. "Hmm. Wonder what would happen if the rest of us tried to write a hit?"  
  
"Don't you dare!"


	4. Housewarming (OT5, M)

"Okay, I'm headed to my studio, see you all in a couple of - really?"  
  
Gary stops and glares at the writhing mass of bodies atop his bed, just as they pull away from each other with gasps and pants. "Sorry Gaz, what was that?"  
  
That makes Gary glare harder. He only got up to go to the toilet! He thought they were still asleep! "You know, I didn't buy this house just to give you lot somewhere to shag."  
  
"Didn't stop us though, did ya?" asks Howard. Mark giggles at that, or maybe that's down to Rob licking up his inner thigh. Then Rob pulls his head up to look at Gary.  
  
"'Sides, if you're too cheap to put the heating on, we gotta stay warm somehow."  
  
Gary moves to hit him, but before he can Rob grasps his wrist. "Come on Gaz, come back to bed," he coos. "It feels empty without you."  
  
Given the four of them are clearly a bit much for his very fancy, very big bed to fit in, he highly doubts that, but before he can argue he's pulled down on top of Rob and into a wet, dirty, possessive kiss.  
  
Gary moans softly against his lips. "I'm meant to be working."  
  
Rob, already starting to pull off the tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt Gary threw on earlier, snickers. "Don't worry. I plan on making you work for it."  
  
"Come on Gaz." Gary shivers as he feels Howard crawl behind him, something hot and hard pressing against his hip. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Mark curled up contentedly in Jay's lap, nuzzling at his jawline, one hand between his legs. "We're not done with your housewarming just yet."  
  
"This house is never warm," Robbie whines. Gary rolls his eyes, and kisses him again to shut him up.


	5. Reciprocation (Robbie/Gary, M)

"How come you never let me repay the favour?"  
  
Gary isn't really listening to him, hurriedly doing his zip back up and looking over his shoulder, keeping an eye on the clock. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Admittedly, it's not the best time for this conversation, what with them all being due on stage in five minutes, but Gaz should have thought of that before pushing Rob up against the door and sucking him off. Rob is still annoyed be ignored. "Gaz?"  
  
"Hmm?" He's not sure Gaz was even listening. He huffs, and Gary sighs. "I didn't know you wanted to," he explains. "Anyway, we hardly have time now."  
  
"Well, no–"  
  
" _Do_ you want to?"  
  
Why does Gary always have to talk to him like a child? "Not especially, but–"  
  
"Then what's the problem?"  
  
"I want you to–"  
  
_Owe me._ That's an odd way of putting it, but it's true. Rob doesn't want to feel like all their encounters are just Gary indulging him and his silly, pathetic, teenage crush. He wants to believe he can give as good as he gets. Please Gary like Gary always pleases him.  
  
He doesn't suck cock like the prudish virgin Rob always took him for, you know. Sometimes he wonders. Gary does really want to be a star...  
  
"Rob?"  
  
Gaz snaps him back to reality. Fuck. He can't tell him that. He'd blow a fuse. "Nothing." Rob sighs in defeat. "Come on, let's go get changed. The others will be worried."  
  
Before they leave, Gary gives him a quick kiss. It feels hollow, perfunctory. Honestly, Rob wonders if Gaz wants him at all, or thinks him one more cock to suck up on his way up the ladder.


	6. Shaken (Gary/Howard, G)

“You’re trembling.”

“Am not,” Gary mumbles, peaking through the curtain, staring over the crowd of thousands, ready and waiting to be disappointed. He shouldn’t have done this. He should have left those girls’ memories where they were, imbued with the innocent nostalgia of childhood, not sullied it with his wish to return and redeem himself. He knows he proved a terrible disappointment to everybody, most of all himself. Why should this be any different?

There’s a pause, and Howard doesn’t answer. Then Gary feels him creep up from behind, strong arms wrapping around Gary’s body, and holding him tight against his chest.

“Yeah, I’m scared too.”

Gary ought to protest, but instead, he leans into the embrace, shivers finally subsiding. He feels safe in Howard’s arms. He always did.

“Well, so long as I’m not alone,” he smiles.


	7. Seduction? (Howard/Gary, T)

They’re drunk. Since they’re the only ones who really do that anymore, they have to get even drunker for the rest of them, and so they’re barely on their feet by the time they stagger back to Gary’s hotel room.

“This is my bed now,” Howard sprawls across it, waiting for a reaction. Gary, unusually, giggles.

“Okay.” He lands next to Howard on the bed with a thud, curling up against him. “But if you’re in my bed, that makes you mine you know.”

Howard’s head is swimming. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear Gaz sounded like– “You trying to seduce me, mate?”

“Maybe.”

Huh. That might be more flattering if Gaz didn’t look half-asleep, but still. “Since when?” he asks, because you’d think after the decades they’ve been friends, he might have noticed.

“Since forever?” Gaz opens his eyes again, pouting. “I always wanted you. Always. I thought you were just being tactful ignoring it, since I didn’t have a chance.”

Howard snorts. “Me, tactful?”

“Fair point.”

Howard thinks this over a second. “What about Rob?” Gary blinks as if to say _what about him?_ “I thought you two were meant to be the ones with the burning UST ruining everyone’s lives, you know.”

“Wha? No. No.” Howard must be starting to sober up, because he feels a jealous itch he didn’t even know he had lift. “I mean, I love him, but we’re - we’re better at writing songs about each other than we’d be at shagging.”

Howard laughs at that, and Gary, still apparently wanting to reassure him, surges forward, lips landing against his own in a clumsy kiss.

“You’re the one I want to _fuck,”_ Gary whispers against his lips, groping somewhere between his hip and his dick.

It shouldn’t be so easy, resolving three decades worth of sexual tension right out of nowhere. But then again, things between him and Gaz are always easy.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy, because Gaz passes out before Howard actually gets to do anything about it. But oh well. They can deal with that in the morning.


	8. Bad Call (Robbie/Gary, T)

“I can’t believe you.”

Gary jumps as he hangs up the phone. “Rob!” _At least he has the decency to look ashamed of himself_ , Rob seethes in rage. “How much of that did you hear?”

“I didn’t have to _hear_ anything.” Rob is practically spitting. “You sold me out!”

A certain stiffness overtakes Gary’s body. “Do you have to be so melodramatic?” he asks, which does not help Rob calm down. “You showed up on my doorstep in a drug-addled mess and promptly collapsed. What was I meant to do?”

“ _Not_ tell Nigel!” Rob doesn’t believe he even has to say that. “You know what he’s like. Anything to make me look bad, huh? If we were friends, you’d know better than that.” Rob can’t believe he ever thought they were.

“I thought he’d know what to do!” Gary throws up his hands in frustration. “I was _worried_ about you.”

Robbie snorts, not for a second indulging the possibly Gaz might mean it. “Worried I’d be too strung out on the telly next time, you mean, so I might make you look bad. You don’t fool me, Barlow.”

Gary swallows hard, as much anger brimming in his eyes as in Rob’s. “Believe what you want. I don’t see any point arguing.” Oh, that’s him all over - always pretending to be the bigger man, always pretending he’s so much smarter and more mature than the rest of them. _Cunt_. “Go take a shower, you reek. Finish sobering up. Honestly, I don’t know why we bother.”

“That makes two of us,” Rob spits, and storms off upstairs.


	9. Behind Closed Doors (Gary/Robbie, M)

“Close the door.”

It’s not a difficult request to accommodate. The door isn’t very far away, given he barely made it into the room before Rob slammed him up against the wall and started savaging him. Gary could probably do it himself, if he weren’t too busy clinging to Rob’s shoulders for support.

“Mmm.” Rob nuzzles against his neck, looking up with a cheeky grin. “Why should I?”

Half-hard and panting, Gary just about manages to glare at him. “Why do you think? Do you want to get caught?!”

“Maybe.” Gary is taken aback. Rob doesn’t mean that. He’s not that stupid, right? “Maybe I want everyone to see you like this. Maybe I want them to know what I do to you. Maybe I want you not to be ashamed of me.”

Gary whimpers, nails digging into Rob’s skin. “Please,” he begs, willing to play submissive, at least for now, “just close the damn door.”

There’s a long pause before Rob sighs deeply, kicking it shut with a satisfying _thud_. Gary smiles with relief. “Don’t say I never did anything for you,” Rob tells him, before pulling him in for another kiss.


	10. Proposition (Jason/Gary/Howard, T)

“Are you sure about this?”

Howard certainly doesn’t look sure. He shrugs. “Nah. Why else would I drag you along?”

Jason doesn’t exactly feel reassured by that, and Howard sighs. “Kidding. Relax, will you? I know what he likes.”

“And I know what he’s _like_.” Howard does look a little sheepish then.

“Just trust me, okay?”

Jason is less than convinced. But he reasons Howard knows Gary better than he does. If anyone would know whether he’ll agree to their proposition, or flee in panic, it should be him.

Come to think of it, Jason isn’t sure why he agreed to it. He never thought he was particularly interested in their uptight, prudish bandmate (although he’s not sure he can say he was particularly disinterested either). But once Howard suggested it, he couldn’t fight of the stab of curiosity at what that would be like. And Howard wants it. He wants it a lot. And Jason likes giving Howard the things he wants.

“If he never speaks to us again, I’m blaming you,” he tells him, and Howard laughs.

That leaves them waiting in Gaz and Howard’s hotel room, awkwardly, until Gary finally makes it through the door. He seems a little bemused to see Jason there. “Uh, hi Jay,” he says. “Something up?”

He and Howard share another look, and Jason sighs. “Listen, me and Howard wanted to ask you something…”


	11. Hand in Hand (Gary/Mark, G)

“What are you doing?”

Mark looks down absently, as if he only just noticed himself. “Holding your hand. Why, does it bother you?” His fingers tighten against Gary’s. “Would you rather I held something else?”

Gary flushes pink at Mark’s lewd grin. He’s not sure, to be honest. “People are staring,” he mutters.

Bemused, Mark looks around the crowded Manchester street. “Gaz, no-one’s even noticed,” he says. “You worry too much.”

Well. That’s probably true. Gary sighs but doesn’t pull his hand away, and Mark seems to take that as compliance. “Good boy,” he says, leaning up to kiss Gary, chastely, on the cheek, and then they keep on walking hand in hand.


	12. All I Do is Dream of You (Gary/Robbie, M)

Gary wakes up in the middle of the night with the taste of Robbie on his tongue, his sweat and his smell flooding his senses, the image of him burnt behind his eyelids. _A dream,_ he reminds himself, the memory itself strange and fuzzy, distorted by the camera lense.

Perhaps Rob was always a dream.

Wheezing and hacking, Gary forces himself up and into the kitchen, anything to get away from the wet stained sheets that betray what he still remembers, to find something artificially sweet to take away the taste that still rouses his hunger. He knows Rob would love it if he knew Gary still dreamt of him. One more victory to add to his pile. Gary doesn’t want to give him that.

He’s not sure he has much of a choice though.

As he breaks into a bar of chocolate, he smiles bitterly. Really, he doesn’t know why he’s making such a big deal of it. He can’t be the only fat middle-aged recluse who dreams about fucking Robbie Williams.


	13. Scentmarking (Gary/Mark, M)

“You smell nice.”

Mark is easily, effortlessly tactile with him as soon as he gets home, hands curled into the small of his back to keep him steady, nuzzling the crook of his neck. He’s trying not to be too obvious about it, but Gary can feel how hot he is, knows what he must be aching for. He shivers. See, he knew he’d regret it.

“I just got out of the shower.”

“I gathered that.” Mark ruffles his damp hair fondly, then thinks a bit. “An odd time for you though, isn’t it?”

Gary curses himself and his innate predictability. If he caught Mark having a shower any hour of the day, he wouldn’t think anything of it, because Mark’s like that. But he always has his showers in the morning after his run, and at night before he goes to bed. Any departure from that routine, like Mark coming home to find him wet and half-naked at three in the afternoon, will raise his suspicions.

“I was feeling hot,” Gary says, which isn’t much of an excuse but is at least somewhat accurate. Mark grins.

“Hot, were you?” He shifts his hips forward until his groin presses against Gary’s thigh, and Gary stifles a whimper. He feels very hot now, all of a sudden. “Is that all? You weren’t say, touching yourself without permission, and trying to hide the evidence?”

 _Fuck._ Gary should have known he’d know. Doesn’t he always? “I…”

Mark’s sigh is oddly paternal - not angry, just disappointed. “ _Gaz_.”

“I couldn’t help it,” he mutters pathetically. “You told me to wait for you, and I tried, but couldn’t stop thinking… I didn’t even touch myself, not really, not on purpose, just squeezed through my jeans and before I knew it, I’d–”

He cuts himself off, flushing pink, while Mark grins at him. “Oh. Well, that’s very flattering, but don’t think I’m letting you off the hook entirely.”

Gary hisses as Mark’s fingers find the length of his sensitive cock, tracing it through his towel. _I’m not nineteen anymore._ “Mark, I’m not sure I can–”

“Oh, you can. If I tell you to.” And Gary knows he’s right. Already his tired body is stirring.

Mark’s grin widens as he slides down Gary’s body and onto his knees, peeling the towel away as he goes. “Don’t think I’m going to make it easy for you though, love,” he says. “If you’ve come once already. I don’t want you getting greedy, do I?”

Gary groans as Mark’s tongue finds his tip. This is going to be a long night.


	14. Pacing (Gary/Robbie, E)

“You look so good like this, Gaz. So pretty. Can’t believe I get to see you like this. You’re gonna be good for me, yeah? It’s gonna be so good…”

Gary moans, hands clutching impotently at the bedsheets either side of his head. He feels like he ought to be doing something, but he can hardly even move at the moment, and Robbie doesn’t seem to mind either way.

His thighs twitch and spasm with nervous effort as he holds them open, knees in the air and feet braced on the bed, as Rob oh so _gently_ slides two fingers inside him, working him open with seemingly infinite patience.

He hadn’t expected sex with Robbie to be like this. He expected it to be rather wham-bam-thank-you-man; he is only seventeen, after all. But no, he seems to be intent on drawing it out, which is nice on some level (he thinks as Rob’s fingers curl just right inside him, making him smother a gasp) but on another level, leaves him positively burning up with anxiety.

“You like this, don’t ya? Look at you. Only just got my fingers in you and you’re already shaking.”

Gary whimpers, his hole clutching tight around Rob’s fingers at those words. “I’m nervous!”

Rob pauses, eyeing Gary with uncharacteristic seriousness. Gary has to bite his lip so as not to squirm against him.”Hey. You know I’m not going to hurt you, right? I wouldn’t do that.”

He takes a deep breath. Right. He better not lead Rob astray, make him think Gary’s changed his mind and doesn’t want this after all. “I know. I trust you, it’s just… it’s a lot.”

Robbie grins at him. “If you think this is a lot, my cock’s gonna be right surprise.”

Gary can’t help but laugh, Robbie drives his fingers back in down to the knuckle, making him gasp. “Too much?”

He shakes his head. With one trembling hand, he takes ahold of Robbie’s wrist. “Again.”

Rob’s grin widens. “See, it’s good when we talk to each other like this, innit? Makes it easier for me to fuck your brains out, anyway.”


	15. Reunion Show (Gary/Robbie, T)

“Should have realised you’d find a boyfriend just like you.”

Gary stops, looking up into the dressing room mirror to see a thin, dark, rumpled figure watching over his shoulder. He sighs. When he and Robbie saw each other earlier, Robbie seemed perfectly pleased to catch back up - the tongue in his ear was a bit of a surprise, but that was Rob all over, wasn’t it? Gary was relieved to see Robbie wasn’t currently angry at him, that he didn’t have to worry about that as well, but he should have realised it wouldn’t be that simple.

Was he just playing for the cameras before, or is his mood really that changeable? Rob’s always had a possessive streak, not that he has any _right_ to be possessive, given they haven’t seen each other in two years.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Ronan’s a friend, nothing more,” he dismisses Rob curtly, not wanting to get sucked into a petty feud (like he hasn’t been already). Still, he can’t quite help himself: “not that you’d have any right to judge, off lounging on luxury yachts with George Michael and god knows what.”

Rob grins at him. “Jealous, Gaz? Your boyhood crush likes me more than you.”

That makes him roll his eyes. “Well I’m not so easy to pity, so fair enough.” Rob flinches, like that did hit him somewhere, and Gary can’t keep back an inappropriate feeling of triumph.

“Why did you invite me to this thing?”

Gary sighs. Why indeed? “I hoped we might talk,” he says as he turns around, which he’s not certain is true. “Face to face, like adults, not just slagging each other off in the newspapers.” He pauses. “I don’t want us to be enemies, you know.”

“Well you sure didn’t seem to want us to be anything else.”

He swallows a lump in his throat. It’s not like Rob ever really thought they could be anything more, did he? Not in their profession. Gary never fooled him, or himself. It was just sex. Gary didn’t think Rob was the kind of guy to take that so seriously.

“ _You’re_ the one who left, Rob.”

“You kicked me out!”

“We gave you a choice: clean up your act or go. You chose the latter.” He presses his hand to his forehead, frustration boiling over. This isn’t going how he planned. “Look, if you really can’t stand the sight of me, why did you come here?”

Rob doesn’t answer, not at first. Slowly, a dark look crosses his eyes, and he starts to prowl across the room like a panther after his prey.

Gary holds his breath as he finds himself backed up against the mirror. “You’ve been missing me, haven’t you? I can tell. None of your showbiz friends can give it to you like I can, huh? You always did like it when I was angry.”

Rob’s hand traces up his thigh. Despite himself, Gary is tempted. Why not? The sex was always good with Rob. If Rob doesn’t want to give him his friendship, he might as well take what he can get. He has missed him, truth be told.

“Maybe I ought to punish you. Remind you who you belong to.”

Gary pushes him away. “I don’t belong to _anyone_.” Rob looks taken aback - less surprised by his rejection than by his words. After all, Rob never thought he was anything but Nigel’s pawn. Rob doesn’t _like_ him, and nothing Gary does will change that. “And I have no interest in being the outlet for all your fucked up psychosexual neuroses.” If they are going to have this stupid feud, Gary isn’t going to surrender before he’s began.

There’s a pause, and then Rob scoffs at him. “Never change, Gaz,” he says, removing his hand and starting to walk away. “You never will.”


	16. Climax (Gary/Robbie, T)

"So... now what?"  
  
Gary sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling above. Meeting up in a hotel room, as much as it raised fond memories of the old days, wasn't in retrospect a very good idea. To be fair he could at least blame part of this on the others for buggering off and leaving the two of them alone, although they probably didn't anticipate this as a possible result.  
  
"How am I meant to know?" he murmured, and Rob pouted, pushing himself up on his forearm to glower in disappointment. Even now he could be such a child sometimes, honestly.  
  
"Well somebody has to, and it sure ain't me."  
  
That was a flawed premise. Gary flinched, and instinctively tried to pull his shirt closed again, not to reveal any weaknesses if he didn't have to. It would be easier if he could think this was all Rob's idea - he was that type, impulsive, idealistic and hopelessly oversexed; of course he would think fucking Gary would somehow make up for everything. Who would even be surprised? Maybe the others left them behind knowing exactly what would happen. Maybe they always knew, maybe everyone did, given what band they're in and all, maybe the whole time it's been obvious why they could never let each other go, why things got as bad as they did...  
  
But it was Gary who started it. And that mattered. He - Rob looked so scared, so lost, so vulnerable. And Gary wanted to fix it. To fix him. To make him better--  
  
"Sex doesn't make anything better," he muttered, more to himself than to Rob. Rob frowned at him, and them slowly dragged his knee along Gary's thigh, teasing smile spreading across his face.  
  
"How would you know, huh Gaz?"  
  
Gary bristled. "Oi!" Rob laughed at him, and for a second, looked seventeen again. Despite himself Gary couldn't help but grin.


	17. Appellations (Gary/Mark/Howard, T)

“I heard that.”

Howard jumps, and Gary smothers a laugh, not sure he’s in any place to be so amused. They both thought Mark was asleep. He just managed not to say anything too compromising in the meantime.

Turning pink, Howard leans over to kiss Mark’s cheek gently, stubble grazing against his skin. “Sorry, Marko. I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes you did.” Mark still only sounds half-awake, so his voice isn’t filled with the emotion it could be. “You think I’m a whore.”

Howard meets his eyes. Gary can only shrug at him. He’s got enough experience saying stupid and thoughtless things to his bandmates, he doesn’t want to do that again. “Not in a bad way,” Howard insists, pulling Mark tight against his body. His teeth find Mark’s earlobe to nibble at it, and Gary watches, bemused, as Mark shudders against him. “C'mon, Markie, don’t be like that. You know how bad we both want ya. The fact you’re always up for the both of us makes things much easier.”

After a seconds hesitation, Mark breaks into a smile; Howard can’t see it, but Gary can. “That’s true,” he says, snuggling between the two of their bodies. “Someone’s got to indulge you two.”

Gary curls himself over Mark’s hipbone, starting to feel a bit left out. “Well I’m glad we got that sorted,” he says. “I don’t want to have to deal with squabbling in the morning.”

Mark hums against his neck. “You just don’t like it when you’re not the centre of attention.”

“Well, yes, what of it?”


	18. Committed (Robbie/Jason, T)

“It’s more complicated than that, Rob.”

Robbie glowers, arms folded over himself defensively. Jason always tells him something like that - that there are good reasons their relationship can only ever be purely physical, even in secret. He never actually explains those reasons. Why would he? He’s made it clear that Rob is much too stupid to understand them anyway - he can be fucked and thrown aside easily, but in a thoughtful way, a sensitive way, a way that doesn’t make Jay reconsider his self-image at all.

“So you say, Jay,” he growls, just about starting to lose patience with him. “I think you’re a coward. You don’t want to admit you have feelings for me because that would give you obligations, that you know you can’t fucking meet.”

And Jason just blinks at him, calm and resolute and insufferable as always. “Does that make me unusual?”

“Well, no, but–”


	19. In Shadows (Gary/Robbie, M)

“Ow!”

Robbie turns back to see Gary fumble over the stairs, blindly grabbing the railing so as not to fall. He seems amused. “You right, Gaz?”

Gary grumbles. He’s really not the sort of person who should be anywhere you have to rely a lot your own innate sense of balance. “Why is it so dark here anyway?”

Offering a hand to help him up, Rob grins at him, and Gary takes his help somewhat reluctantly. “C’mon, it’s atmospheric. Aesthetic. Other things you like.”

Atmospheric is one word for it. Gary can’t see a bloody thing, the entire building seems lit entirely with flickering candlelight, which must be a Health and Safety hazard on multiple levels. And yet there’s a pervasive sense of anonymity to it all, everything paid for by cash machine or those newfangled cards, so they’ve not spoken to another person since they entered. The overall effect is a strange midpoint between romantic and seedy he can’t help but think suits Rob perfectly.

Gary shouldn’t have come. He doesn’t even know what they’re doing here. Rob promised him it’d be fun, but he and Rob often have very different definitions of fun. Maybe he wouldn’t have come, except Rob sneered at him for being so boring and staid all the time, and Gary didn’t want to live down to expectations.

Once he’s on his feet again he’s dragged along until Rob finds what he’s looking for, a red silk curtain (at least, he thinks it’s red, it’s hard to tell in this light) concealing a plushy leather couch. Rob pulls him in and shuts the curtain again, hiding them from the world.

Gary looks around, trying to figure out what they’re doing here. The booth is small, and he can feel Rob’s breath hot against his skin, making his sweat. There’s no table, but stll-- “Um, do we order food now, or what?”

Rob grins at him, teeth bright in the candlelight. “We could, but it’s not really what I had in mind.”

Before Gary can ask what he’s on about he finds himself pounced upon, gasping as Rob knocks him halfway onto his back. _Oh, of course._ He should have realised that sooner.

He moans as Rob’s teeth graze against his jawbone, one hand massaging insistently between his legs. Rob’s never been one to waste time. Gary enjoys it for a moment, before his senses come back to him, and he struggles vaguely in Robbie’s arms. “Wait, Rob, we can’t--” instinctively he’s searching over Rob’s shoulder, wondering where the cameras are.

“We _can_ , Gaz.” Rob reprimands him with a sharp nip to his earlobe, that makes Gary whimper. “No-one can see us, remember? That’s the whole point. So you just lie back, relax... and let me have my wicked way with you.”

Gary shudders as Rob whispers in his ear. He’s not sure he has the complete faith in their anonymity Rob does, but he’s not sure he can resist either. As Rob starts unbuttoning his fly, he doesn’t. “And you had to bring me all this way to do that, did you?” he laughs. “This is the sort of place you’d bring your mistress.”

And Rob pauses, pulling back with a very curious look crossing his face - from what Gary can see, anyway. “Well, you won’t let me take you anywhere people could see us,” he says.

Gary bites his lip. That is true - and necessary. Rob knows that, really. Still, as if in apology, he raises his chin and bares his throat, giving himself over, if only temporarily, to Rob’s possession.

Rob grins, leaning down to seize his neck once more, with jealous kisses and indecipherable whispers that feel something like _mine._


	20. Good Morning (Gary/Robbie, T)

“Gaaaaaaz, come back to bed.”

He’s not sure Gary can actually hear him over the sound of the water, but after a second he gets a shouted response. “I’m in the shower!”

_Well, duh._ “But I’m cold!” Rob whines, burrowing further into the duvet.

“Put some clothes on then!”

Even though Gary can’t see him, Rob grins. “Aww, but where’s the fun in that?”

There’s a pause, and all of a sudden, the water switches off. _Ha, you’ve still got it Williams._ Gary pokes his head out the door, white towel wrapped around his waist, wet hair plastered to his forehead, droplets sliding down his chest. Robbie looks him up and down shamelessly. “Give me five minutes to dry off, okay?”

Rob’s not really a patient person, but he supposes he can manage that. The door swings closed again and Gary mutters to himself, while Rob taps his fingers against his mouth thoughtfully. “You know, you don’t have to go out running first thing every day. Morning sex would be much easier if you’d sleep in for a bit. You wouldn’t have to shower again afterwards for one thing.”

There’s a pause on the other side of the door. “I like having a routine.”

_‘Course you do._ “Still, it’d be nice to see you first thing sometimes, that’s all.” Granted, Rob could solve that problem by waking up stupidly early like Gary does, but it doesn’t seem likely. “Wait, that’s not why you do it, is it? You’re worried about me seeing you before you’ve got a chance to look all pretty? Because that’s not fair. I mean, I look like Baby Yoda in the mornings and you don’t see me fussing.”

Gary comes back out, examining him with a curious smile. “By that you mean, ‘calculatedly adorable’?”

Rob grins at him. “Exactly.” Gary still has the towel around his waist, and Rob gestures at it impatiently. “Alright, get that off. I’ve been waiting long enough.”

Gary sighs. “Alright, but as you said, it’s cold.” As soon as he’s naked Rob pulls him onto the bed, winding his fingers through damp hair, kissing him with a low groan. “For the record, if I get the sheets all wet, then you’re only going to be colder.”

“You’ll just have to keep me warm then.”

That makes Gaz laugh. “Well, I can hardly fault you for making me feel wanted.”

“Mm, yeah,” Rob murmurs, reaching atop the covers to grab his cock. “See? Fucking me makes you feel better than bloody exercise.”


	21. Bridal Show (Howard/Mark, T)

“We’re not looking at wedding dresses.”

“Why not? You’d look good in white.”

Howard sighs in irritation, and Mark looks down sheepish, reluctantly folding his magazine closed. “Sorry, we don’t have to if you don’t want to, Dougie,” he says with only the smallest of pouts. “But I thought you might like this. Getting all pretty, feeling special...”

A flush rises under his cheeks. Sometimes he wonders if Mark knows him too well. “Yeah, but... I’d look a right tit in a wedding dress.”

Mark gives him a cheeky grin. “And that’s different how?”

“Oi!” Howard grabs the magazine to whack him with it, and Mark squirms out of the way giggling.

Eventually, he settles down, contemplating Howard thoughtfully. “Think about it, alright?” he asks. “It might not be as bad as you think.”

Howard rolls his eyes, but then they drift down to the bridal magazine in his hand anyway. “Alright, I’ll think about it.” He might not be able to stop thinking about it, to be honest with you.


	22. Vows (Gary/Jason, G)

“I’m getting married.”

“To her?”

It takes Gary a split-second to realise that was not the correct response. Jason doesn’t say anything, just takes a sharp breath to show his displeasure, and Gary finds himself backpedaling wildly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, I don’t have anything against her--” That’s just the thing. He doesn’t have against Jason’s new lady love, because he doesn’t know her, she’s just some name that’s been plucked out of the air for him - but Jay knows her well enough to decide he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and Gary knew they hadn’t been in touch for awhile, but jesus. “--It’s all just a bit sudden.”

There’s a pause. “I suppose it must seem like it, to you,” Jason says, guilt creeping into his voice. “I’m sorry, I should have called earlier--”

“That’s quite alright.” Gary isn’t sure it is. It’s not been easy, feeling Jay get further and further away from them, facing scrutinising questions from the public that force you to acknowledge you don’t know the answers. It’s like losing your grip on something that is a part of you, something you don’t know how to do without it.

At least, that’s what it’s been like for Gary. He doesn’t know about the others.

Still, that’s not the point. Jason is here now, and Gary doesn’t want to lose him again. He has no time for regrets.

He sighs. “I don’t suppose you’d want us at the wedding? Too many cameras that come with he.” He remembers his own wedding, secluded away on a tiny Caribbean island while he was hiding from the world. He does understand, really.

It takes Jay a second, but when he speaks again, a warmth fills his voice. “I suppose I could make an exception this once,” he says. “So long as you can stop all your celebrity friends tagging along.”

Gary laughs with relief. “I’ll do my best.”


	23. Property (Robbie/Gary, T)

"Ow."

Rob frowns. He's got his hands wrapped against Gaz's wrists where he's pinned to the door, but he didn't think he was holding that tight. "Something wrong?"

Gaz chews his lip, pink and swollen from kissing, nervously. "I think you're going to bruise my mouth," he says. "People will notice that."

If Robbie were more like Gary, he'd appreciate that as a valid concern, but instead he just grins. "You love it."

He claims Gaz's mouth once more before he can protest, low moans flowing through his body. "Yes, but--" he pulls back to whisper, but Rob shuts him up before he can finish.


	24. Just Friends (Robbie/Gary, T)

"So, about last night..."

Robbie watches, drumming his fingers on the cover of his magazine nervously, but he doesn't say anything. Gaz came to him. He seems rather out if his depth, running his fingers through his hair anxiously, which maybe shouldn't be surprising. He seemed out of his depth last night too.

"...Look, it was a mistake," Gary eventually decides. "Nothing personal, Rob, but we're not - I mean I'm not - and even if we were, we're in a band together, we can't be sleeping together. Can you imagine if the press found out?"

Rob nods along, refusing to acknowledge vague flicker of disappointment. Gaz is right, last night was stupid - it was a miracle he got over his obsession with his career long enough for it to happen at all. But that makes no difference to Rob. If Gary doesn't want to be a part of his experimental phase anymore, no skin of his back - plenty of dicks in the sea.

"Okay."

Gary grins with relief. "Good. So, friends again, right?"

_When did we stop being friends?_ Rob wonders vaguely. "Yeah," he says, and grins. "Can I get an entirely platonic kiss of brotherly love then?"

Gary laughs, but after a second shrugs. "Well, why not?" he asks, and leans over to give Rob the tiniest of pecks, one as chaste and proper as he is, one that could hardly tell anyone they'd had sex at all.

Two hours later, they're tangled up in bed again, all over each other, and this isn't going to be as simple as Rob thought, is it?


	25. Maestro (Robbie/Gary, T)

"This is silly."

"Yeah well, you and your sodding piano. I'd never get any cuddles at all if I wasn't willing to think a bit." Rob tightens his arms around Gary's soft middle, just in case he was thinking of moving.

Gary, perched neatly in his lap, sighs. "I can hardly play like this," he points out. "Anyone would think you were trying to distract me."

Rob grins, shifting his hips forward a little. "Oh really?"

Shivering a bit, Gary looks back over his shoulder. After a moment's hesitation, he leans down to give Rob a kiss that surprises him with its depth and thoroughness - not that he's complaining. "Alright, but make it quick," says Gaz. "I've got a song a wanna write ya."


	26. Kissing and Crying (Jason/Howard, G)

_Are you alright?_ is, almost certainly, the wrong thing to ask. Howard’s never been one for words, and the answer itself is fairly plain already, from the tears streaking down his face, buried in his knees.

There are a lot of things Jason could say, but he doesn’t any of them, he simply pulls Howard into his arms and lets him rest his head against his shoulder. Howard grips the front of his shirt and clings to him in need.

When he tilts his head up slightly, tears starting to dry, Jason smiles at him, and leans down to press his lips against Howard’s salt-tinged ones. It’s a little clumsy, but it’s what Howard needs from him, he thinks, and he does his best to give Howard what he needs.


	27. Better Angels (Jason/Mark, T)

Girls are always all over Mark. Girls are always all over all of them, but especially Mark, whose angelic beauty and giving personality seem irresistible to damn near everyone. Jason is no exception.

He knows it’s not Mark’s fault, that charming and indulging adolescent fantasies is their _job_ , but even so when they get back to the hotel room he can’t help pushing Mark up against the wall and seizing his mouth with a rough, possessive kiss.

Mark moans into his mouth eagerly, grasping Jason’s shoulders to ground himself, before pulling back with a slightly nervous smile on his lips. “Sorry Jay,” he says. “I didn’t mean to make you jealous.”

And Jason flinches, suddenly ashamed of the caveman inside him that apparently comes out when someone else touches Mark. _If only the others knew._ “That’s alright,” he says, not quite meeting Mark’s eye. “I understand. Really, I shouldn’t--”

“ _Still.”_ Mark cuts him off, hand tracing up Jason’s thigh softly. “I should make it up to you, right?”

Looking at his face again, Jason tilts his head to the side curiously. “You know, I’m not sure I believe you,” he says. “Maybe you are trying to make me jealous after all.”

Mark grins. “Now, would I do that?”


	28. Committed (Robbie/Gary, T)

“You’re ridiculous.”

Gary whimpers as he’s dragged away from the table he was sitting at, leaving a teenage girl blinking in confusion in his wake. “Rob! She’s a fan, you can’t just–”

He fins himself slammed up against the wall of this restaurant, Robb kissing him roughly, possessively. “C’mon, Gaz. You don’t really want to be out with these girls you don’t know, do ya?”

Gary struggles not to pant into his mouth. “Well, no, but–” Rob kisses him again, and he mewls as he returns it.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he is told. “You know who you belong to.”


	29. Still (Robbie/Gary, G)

“What are you doing?”

Gaz is so stressed all the time. There’s always some new goal to meet, someone to prove himself to, some reason he can’t just stay in Rob’s arms where he belongs. Rob digs his nails into Gary’s scalp. “Stopping you running off on me,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and not a terrifyingly vulnerable confession.

Gary shudders with Rob chipping his signature into his skull. “I do have to do work sometimes,” he complains, weakly, his head lulling into Robbie’s lap.

Rob grasps him tighter. “Yeah, but not _now_ ,” he says, as if that means anything.


	30. Conflict (Robbie/Gary, T)

“You twat,” Rob pushes him away in disgust. “You can’t just fuck me to make it up whenever you...”

He doesn’t finish that sentence, and Gary sighs with frustration. “I don’t see why not,” he drawls. “It usually works.”

Robbie is tempted to punch his teeth out, but one look into Gary’s overly-serious eyes and he falters. He’s so _weak_ around Gaz. “Look, I don’t know what you want from me,” says Gary, folding his arms over his chest. “You _know_ we can’t be together for real. You wouldn’t want to be if we could.” Robbie flinches at the accusation. Deep down he knows Gaz is right - he’s not ready to take that leap, of public ridicule and scrutiny, of career suicide, of what Nigel would fucking do to them - either, but it still hurts him that Gary isn’t willing to do it for him. He never will be. “I’m giving you all I can.” Subtly, Gaz’s body posture softens. “Isn’t that enough?”

It’s never enough, that’s the problem. Robbie knows he has an addictive personality, and Gaz is worse for him than booze or drugs could ever be. But Rob doesn’t tell him that. Instead, he grabs Gary by the forearm and pulls him in close, until he can feel Gaz’s sharp breath on his cheek.

“That depends.” His grin is wicked, but cruel. “How much is ‘all you can’?”


	31. Protector (Howard/Robbie, T)

You know, Howard isn’t sure it was the best idea to have Rob coming around to clubs with them. He doesn’t want to offend anyone, but Rob is very young, and Howard isn’t sure he’s quite ready to be surrounded by older men sizing him up as a sex object. _Howard_ isn’t sure he’s ready for that, and he’s been doing it for years.

He walks out of the bathroom and sees Robbie sat at the bar, with some guy looming over him. He’s a big guy, tall, bearish, and clearly much older than Robbie - at least forty. Rob, though he tries to hide it, looks more than a little afraid. Rob is tall too, but he’s also pretty skinny, and Howard wouldn’t like to see how things would play out if this fella tried anything physical.

Out of the corner of his eye Robbie spots him, and is visibly relieved. “Howard!” he calls out, and when Howard makes his way over he wraps an arm around his back. “This is my boyfriend.”

Howard blinks in surprise, but Robbie’s nails dig into his side in a way that says _please just play along mate,_ and so he does. “Er. Yeah.” Awkwardly he leans in to kiss Robbie’s cheek, not sure if that will sell the ruse or make it look like he’s trying too hard. “Just had to take a leak. Not having any trouble out here, are you love?”

Rob’s eyes drift back toward the other man, and glowers at them sullenly. Still, he looks them up and down and seems to decide it’s not worth it - he might have a decent chance against either one of them, but not the two. “No, no trouble,” he mutters. After one last look he adds: “Well done.” Then he walks away.

Howard can feel Rob relax against him, and pulls him in closer. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” says Rob. Howard doesn’t really believe him, but decides not to push. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem.” Howard thinks it over a little more. “Er, one question. Are we stuck playing boyfriends for the rest of the night then? You know, in case anyone gets suspicious?”

At that, Rob grins. “Oh, only if you want to Dougie.”


	32. Departure (Jason/Howard, T)

“You want to leave too, don’t you?”

Jason’s heart aches as he watches Howard curled up on the hotel room bed, looking so small and vulnerable. He can’t bring himself to lie to him. “I _have_ to leave, Doug.” Staying in this band is killing him. Doesn’t Howard understand that?

He sniffles slightly. “I know. Hardly worth sticking around for little old me, is it?”

Jason sighs in frustration. He feels sorry for Howard, but he’s not going to be guilt-tripped into anything. “Look, the others all think it’s the right time to call it quits too,” he says ( _both_ , he reminds himself). “Why should I be any different?”

“Because I love you?”

He freezes as Howard stares up at him. “You don’t mean that,” he says. Because Howard _can’t_ love him. Right now, Jason can just about see the way out, the light at the end of the tunnel. But if Howard loves him, then Jason might just love him back, and then he’ll never get out. He’ll be stuck here ‘til he dies. “See, that’s why we have to leave. Being in this band has warped all our brains; we don’t know who we are without it. Who are we to know what we want, or who we love?”

Howard tears up again as he turns away from him. Being sure he’s right doesn’t make Jason feel any less guilty. “Maybe you’re right,” he mutters. “Maybe. I don’t fucking know.”

_Me neither._


	33. Strictly Professional (Mark/Howard, T)

Mark isn’t going to take advantage of the situation. Howard is his employee; that would be wrong. The man is here to guard his body and do nothing else to it, and Mark won’t push anything upon him.

No matter how _fucking hot_ he is.

“Well,” Howard says, hot and sweaty after having secreted him from a mob of screaming fans. “Bit of a mess, but I think we got out alright. Now, if you’ll be safe on your own for five minutes, I’m gonna go take a shower.”

He strips off his shirt before he’s even fully out of sight. Mark can’t help craning his neck to look. Taking advantage of him would be wrong, but surely _looking_ isn’t so bad, right?


	34. Band on the Run (Robbie/Gary, G)

Being chased down the street by a mob of screaming girls isn’t as much fun as it looks on the telly. Rob sighs in relief as the fans, too swept up in their own hormonal rush, completely overlook the narrow entrance he and Gaz have hidden inside, stampeding in chase of imaginary Take That members who are probably better looking up close than them anyway.

Gary sighs heavily against his neck. “Oh thank god,” he says. “You know, this never happens to me when I’m not out with you lot.”

“That’s hardly something to gloat about, Gaz,” he scoffs at the accusation. “Anyway, you were lucky I was here. Without me to pull you along you never would have outrun them.”

“Oi!”

Silence falls as the footsteps fade into the background. Robbie takes a second to realise where he is. He acted on instinct, pulling Gaz into the first hiding spot he found. Only now he fully processes the fact he has Gaz pinned against the wall, practically covering his body with his own, as if he’s trying to shield him. They’re close enough to kiss, if they wanted to. Rob wonders if the girls would like to see that.

Gary shuffles uncomfortably against the wall, perhaps having the same realisation. “How long do we have to stay like this?”

“Dunno.” Robbie shrugs. “Five years or so? Until our boyish good looks fade.” He pauses. “Well, until my boyish good looks fade.”

“ _Oi!”_


End file.
